Penningtons Manches Cooper partners with Beauhurst to sponsor new report on investment into UK spinouts
Penningtons Manches Cooper has partnered with Beauhurst, a leading private company data platform, to launch its latest report on the UK spinouts landscape, Investment into Spinouts 2026.
The publication offers a comprehensive overview of investment into UK spinouts, including trends in equity deployment, grant funding, regional performance and sector level dynamics.
It highlights the continued strength of the UK’s ‘Golden Triangle’ universities, with Cambridge, Oxford and London again securing the highest levels of spinout investment. It also examines the rise of early stage dealmaking, the growing presence of AI focused spinouts, and the changing role of public funders.
Its key findings include:
- equity investment totalled £1.96 billion across 384 deals, reflecting a more selective but still resilient market for university‑linked innovation
- despite a fall in the overall number of grants, the average grant size rose by 10.96% to reach £423k
- the life sciences, digital and technology sectors dominated deal volume, reflecting government priority areas. Within digital and technology, AI, sensors, robotics, and image/voice recognition achieved notably higher average deal values
- the Golden Triangle universities continue to lead, with Cambridge and Oxford spinouts combined raising more than £800m, but regional ecosystems are showing growing strength, including in Edinburgh, Bristol and Manchester.
- Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire local authorities forming the UK’s largest innovation cluster and Cambridge spinouts securing a total of £486m in equity funding
Commenting on the findings, James Went, partner in the firm’s technology transfer and spinouts practice, said:
“The UK spinout ecosystem has matured into one of the world’s most dynamic, with founders tackling genuinely world changing problems in fields such as AI, cleantech and medicine. While 2025 tested the resilience of the sector, the fundamentals remain strong. The companies that thrive will be those that invest in transaction readiness early and approach fundraising strategically and with foresight.”
Penningtons Manches Cooper’s long standing work with spinouts, founders, universities and investors spans formation, IP strategy, licensing, venture funding, strategic collaborations and exits. The team continues to support the growth of this vibrant and strategically important segment of the UK’s innovation economy.